I’ve never looked forward so much to Christmas… I didn’t think I’d be here

LIFE is sweet for Lesley Graham – and Christmas is the sweetest time of all.

In April, mum-of-two Lesley, 39, was given devastating news.

She was told she had between four and six months left to live. The breast cancer she had successfully battled had returned and was now rampaging through her liver, brain, ribs and bones.

There was no miracle cure but there was one glimmer of hope.

Lesley’s consultant told her of a drug called Kadcyla – which could extend her life.

But at £15,000 a session every three months, it’s not available on the NHS in Scotland.

It is available in England and, after hearing remarkable success stories from people lucky enough to be on it, Lesley appealed to Health Secretary Shona Robison to give her the chance of life.

In May, The Sunday Post backed her appeal, campaigning for Lesley to have Kadcyla by telling her story and publishing the heart-breaking letter she wrote to Ms Robison.

The Scottish Government listened and gave Lesley the go-ahead to access Kadcyla on the NHS.

Days later, childminder Lesley began her first three-month block of treatment at Glasgow’s Beatson West Of Scotland Cancer Centre.

And the results were astounding.

Scans revealed the cancer in her brain had halved, her bone cancer had halted and the cancer in her liver had also halved.

Her most recent scan last week showed the cancers remained under control – exactly what the experts wanted.

Last night, at the family home she shares with hubby Colin, 47, and daughters Charlotte, 15, and Rebekah, 12, Lesley, of Barrhead, near Glasgow, said: “I have never looked forward to a family Christmas as much as I am this year. I didn’t think I’d be here.

“When August arrived I was so scared. That was the four-month point and I’d been given four to six months. I wondered what was going to happen to me. It felt like I had a ticking time bomb inside me.

“Then September arrived, then October, but the drug is working and I feel so well.

“I began to look forward. I have so much to be thankful for. I wanted to be here for Rebekah starting secondary school, to see her in her prom dress, celebrate Charlotte’s 15th birthday. I have achieved all that.

“Now we’re having a huge family Christmas with 18 of us at my mum’s, playing games, eating, having fun. I might even have a glass of bubbly although I don’t really drink.

“Every day is a celebration for me. Every morning when I wake up I say, ‘Thank you’. I think being told I was going to die has actually made me go out and live.”

At her lowest ebb in April her friends set up a JustGiving page online to help pay for Lesley and her family to make memories.

At one point there was enough in the kitty to pay for one session of Kadcyla in case funding for the drug was denied. Lesley said: “There will never be a way to repay people for their kindness and friendship. I knew many of these people before but just in passing.

“Now I feel I can call these people my friends because I truly feel they care about me.

“It makes me appreciate everything I’ve got and the people I’ve got round about me.

“I hope that, by remaining positive and giving back to the community, somehow I’m helping someone else.

“I’ve spoken out loudly both on television and in the papers about the availability of life-changing drugs – and it’s not just cancer drugs.

“I don’t think we should stand by and accept that there is a drug available which might save your life, but you can’t have it.

“That’s just barbaric. But I realise that not everyone does speak up for themselves and I hope that I’m their voice too. People matter. Everyone matters.”

Lesley no longer sweats the small stuff. Her attitude to life is joyful which is yet another unexpected blessing.

She said: “I eat and sleep well and I’ve had huge amounts of help from alternative therapies.

“I’ve been taught and practise mindfulness, meditation and relaxation skills which help me to sleep.

“If you get a good sleep it gives your body the time to repair itself.

“I try hard not to get bogged down in negativity or anything like that because it’s not worth it.

“There are far more positive things to enjoy like a Christmas party with my lovely family – that’s what really matters to me.”